Way too early trade deadline rumors has Blue Jays dealing with Marlins, Twins

After falling just short in the World Series last season, the Toronto Blue Jays entered the 2026 season with high expectations. It is entirely understandable, as they still have plenty of high-impact players and will be looking for revenge this campaign. However, at this point in the season, it is certainly fair to say that things are not going to plan for the Blue Jays.

At the time of this writing, the Blue Jays sit at the bottom of the American League East standings with a rough 8-13 record. They have also lost four out of their last five games, so they have been continuing to trend in the wrong direction.

A major reason for the Blue Jays' slow start this season is undoubtedly their injury trouble. Among the players who have been sidelined for the Blue Jays include Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, Alejandro Kirk, Anthony Santander, Lazardo Estrada, Cody Ponce, George Springer, and Yimi Garcia. With this, there is no question that the injury bug has bitten the Blue Jays early this campaign.

A good portion of the players currently unavailable for the Blue Jays right now are pitchers. Due to this, the Blue Jays are now being linked to notable starting pitcher trade candidates as they continue to struggle early on this campaign.

Blue Jays may need to go after a few aces at the deadline

In a recent article for Sports Illustrated, Patrick McAvoy named a handful of the top MLB trade candidates at this point of the campaign. Among the names McAvoy discussed were Miami Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara and Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan.

When it came to Alcantara and Ryan, McAvoy listed the Blue Jays as a potential landing spot for both starters. When noting that the struggling Blue Jays would benefit by adding another star pitcher to their rotation, it is understandable that they are being connected to both Alcantara and Ryan.

Alcantara would be a fantastic pickup for the Blue Jays. The 6-foot-5 righty is having a strong bounce-back season for the Marlins, as he has a 2-2 record and 3.06 ERA in five appearances. With numbers like these, he is showing signs of his previous Cy Young-winning form and is exactly the kind of star Toronto could use because of it.

As for Ryan, the 29-year-old righty is having a good start to the year himself. In five starts, he has a 2-2 record and a 3.29 ERA. This is after he had an All-Star season in 2025 with Minnesota, posting a 13-10 record and a 3.42 ERA in 31 games.

Ultimately, with the Blue Jays' rotation needing a boost, landing either Alcantara or Ryan would be big for them. Let's see if they can swing a deal for one of them by the deadline from here.

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